From Death With Love
by Comidia Del Arte
Summary: A young woman by the name of Neo Mathews, has been with L since the start of the case. She works with another world, filled with beings of lore. On the night of L's passing, she tells her story. And how much she loved L and that she never told him. L/OC
1. From Death With Love

The sun did not rise on that day, the day it went to hell. It was as if the heavens were raging in anger at what was to come. However I did not see it happening so early in the game. We had the Death Note; I had shown the Society my true colors. There was war. But that fact that my pursuit as well as my mother's had been right all along, it was somehow sickly sweet and somewhat satisfying. I had even more supporters. But what came that day threw everything backwards, blew it all to hell.

L saw it coming; I don't think he was sure it would happen on that day. But he knew it was coming, and he was prepared for it in more ways than one. He made sure that everything that had been obtained about me, my past, and any recent photos that had been taken. Every bit of information had been destroyed before Light could get to it. He made sure that I could do what I did best, disappear. And I did just that.

I had been in the room with Watari when he died. We had been talking about things, laughing at the past. Enjoying each other company. Right in the middle of a sentence, he grasped his chest and made sputtering chocking noises "Watari!"

Before he could fall I caught him in my arms, I knew before his eyes closed, that the Shinigami was to blame. Watari motioned to a button on the desk. Nodding I put him down slowly and pressed the button. Information flashed onto the screen, scrolling down fast. Suddenly the screen went blank. I heard L's voice coming over the speakers "Watari! Watari what's going on!"

Gritting my teeth I kept my mouth shut, I could see Light behind him. And he was smiling. "Where is the Shinigami where…?"

His dark eyes widened, and he began to gasp for air. Putting my hand over my mouth I kept myself from screaming. Something broke inside me. I watched with horror as Light caught him. Tears rolled down my cheeks, bending over Watari's broken form, I placed my lips on his forehead. "Sleep well old man."

Getting up I ran toward my room. My mind set on packing and getting the hell out before Light or anyone saw me. Seeing something in a storage space, I paused. It was the Shinigami. Turning it fixed its eyes on me. Without another word, its body slowly broke down, into a pile or ashes. Looking away I continued to my room, I grabbed everything in sight not sure what to take, it didn't matter. A suicidal person did not take much with them. Grabbing a piece of paper I wrote down a substantial suicide note, I had written several in the past. It was the most full proof way to die without involving other people. At the bottom I wrote 'Be ready Kira, the angel of death is at your door. You'll have to let him in at some point. Not for him to do your bidding, but for him to carry you to hell.'

Placing the note on the desk I walked out of the room, quiet. No one was watching the main room, L's body lay sprawled out on the floor. A fresh wave of tears found their way into my eyes. Slowly, I approached his body. Kneeling down I took him into my arms, he was still warm. Burying my face in L's hair I sobbed. Brushing dark locks from his face I stared at him. He looked so shocked, as if surprised that he, the supposedly untouchable L could not die. Bowing my head, more tears flowed, running down his face. Pressing him closer I mumbled. "I love you, I'm so sorry I never told you. I love you so much, you probably knew that already. But I should I said so anyway. Sleep well Lawliet, sleep well."

I kissed his closed eyes; then gently I lowered him back to the ground. Without another word I folded his hands over his stomach. I had never seen L with his eyes closed. Seeing it now was so surreal. My heart broke several times. A sob tore itself from my throat. With nothing else to say I walked out of headquarters, never looking back.

Standing on the nearest bridge, the rain pounded my flesh endlessly, in some ways it was soothing and in others it made me want to cry again. Shaking my head I turned and got onto my bike. Revving it up, I drove it forward, over the edge. I heard several cars squeal to a halt, people screaming. The wind rushed against my face. Quickly I dismounted my bike and prepared to dive. L had made sure I knew about this place, that I knew that it was a safe place to dive headfirst into. Under my clothes was a wet suit, insulated and warm ready for the sting of the icy cold bellow. My hands broke the surface and soon the rest of me followed. From under the waves of sub-zero water I watched as my bike sank to the depths. Everyone would assume I was dead. With so much fog and rain, they would have never seen me detached from the bike. They would only assume that I went down, or was crushed by passing boats.

Turning I swam away, to the safety of the bridge. I had contacted some close friends to pick me up in their boat. No one would see me from the bridge. The storm was thick. A strong pair of hands lifted me from the arctic waves of water. Despite the wet suit, hypothermia was setting in. I was carried bellow deck. Stripped of my wet clothes and placed under layers of warm blankets. My friends forced hot soup down my throat, along with a couple shots of whiskey to jump start my body. After about an hour, they left me alone.

Curling up I cried, I sobbed, and I mourned. No one disturbed me. No one attempted to comfort me. Though I knew they waited for my orders just outside the door. Between sobs I ordered. "Take us to Safe House five!"

Their Footsteps slowly grew silent, and the boat began to chop through the waves of the sea. My sobs calmed, but my body continued to shiver. My stomach began to churn and ache. Shooting up from the covers, I vomited the remaining food in my stomach. Lying back, my eyes fluttered with weakness. Slowly my head turned, a silhouette floated in front of my eyes. Blurring and going out of focus. Then it would slowly come back into focus. Reaching out for the hallucination, my hands shook. Feeling a familiar hand grasp it; my eyes snapped open, seeing a tall figure with coal black disheveled hair. Tears stung my eyes again. His hands gently grasped my face; I could not see his eyes. "L?"

My voice was so weak, that his name was hardly even close to that of a whisper. Cold lips pressed themselves against my forehead. His breath tickled my ear when his vaporous voice uttered. "I love you."

The feeling of him left me after that. My eyes were dry and the sobs stopped. My body was weak and cold, still shivering with sickness. Eyelids fluttering and becoming heavy, I passed out, his statement echoing in my head. Over and over again like the toll of church bells. Growing louder and louder within the confines of the darkness.


	2. Breaking and Entering

"Come on Mello, what makes you think that this Neo Mathews is in this place?"

A red car turned onto a cobblestone driveway in Belgium. A red head with goggles shook his head and looked at the passenger, a copper blonde man with wild eyes. He was holding a list. "L left me this bit ofinformation; he even left a list of places this Neo person could possibly be in. This address is the last on the list."

The red head did not reply. "Matt?"

Mello glanced at his friend, and noticed that he was staring at something. Looking up his mouth dropped. The driveway came to a sudden halt in front of a large house, almost a mansion. Matt blinked a few times and removed the cigarette from between his lips. "This place looks deserted, man. There aren't any lights on."

Mello shook his head and pointed to a chimney on the roof. "Someone put a fire in the fire place!"

Matt grinned. "It's about time. After 2 years of this stupid chase we finally have something."

Mello opened the door and loaded his gun. Matt raised an eyebrow. "What's with the gun?"

Mello glanced at the mansion. "L said that this person might seem slightly hostile. His letter said Mathews wasn't like other people."

Matt rolled his eyes but also loaded his gun. "Two fucking years of searching for this person and we don't even know if it's a dude or a chick."

Mello chuckled dryly and walked around the perimeter of the grounds. He came back, a smile fixed on his lips. "I found an open door that leads to the basement, it's not locked."

Matt nodded. "Don't think this Neo was expecting guests."

Mello shrugged as they moved around to the back. "This place is pretty secluded. Belgium is a random place to hide."

Matt smothered his death stick in the dirt and pulled out another. After lighting it he stated. "So were Thailand, Boston, Turkey, Finland, and the other places where this weirdo set up shop."

Seeing the door Mello hid behind a tree and watched. "Whoever this person is, they have made an enemy of Kira or just don't like having their pictures taken. Every damn house we've been to has a ton of empty frames."

Matt nodded and then ran at the door and opened it. Mello soon followed and they were both now inside the house. They followed a long narrow passage until they came to what looked like a workout room. The walls were covered with mirrors and the floors carpeted in mats. In the near left corner was a punching bag. And in the far right corner was a rack, which held several different kinds of swords and knives. Mello glanced at Matt and they walked toward the only door in the room and continued on. The next room looked like a target practice room for both archery and shooting. They went on. The next room was a wine cellar, the door to the other rooms looked as if normally it was hidden by a wine bottle bracket, which swung out like a door. After the wine cellar the two men found stairs to the upper level.

Matt glanced back at the downstairs area. "That was interesting."

Mello kept his eyes forward. The two walked through the main part of the mansion. They ended up finding the fireplace that was connected to the chimney outside. It looked as if it had just been lit about an hour ago. There was an oak coffee table in front of it. And on it was a large plate of food. Picking up a fork that had been sitting on the plate Mello stated. "The handle is still warm."

Matt looked around. "Maybe we should split up. I mean the place is pretty big."

Mello thought for a second and then nodded in agreement. "Alright, keep your headset on incase one of us runs into trouble."

Matt took a small headset from his pocket and put it on. After that he took off to search the mansion. Mello looked back at the plate of food. There was also a glass of wine sitting to the right of the plate. He noticed, what looked like lip marks on the glass. Squinting he leaned forward. The marks were a deep shade of red. Pressing a button on his headset he activated it, "Hey Matt?"

Matt, who was now in the kitchen of the house replied, "Dude, Mello this person is really paranoid. I just found a gun in the spice drawer."

Mello blinked. "Matt, I think this Neo is a chick. There's lipstick on the wine glass next to the food!"

Matt was about to say something but Mello didn't hear it. He felt the cold barrels of a gun pressed against the back of his head. "Alright Blondie, off with the headset, and put the gun down."

Mello was shocked; he didn't even hear this person approach. Slowly he put the gun down and then the he took off the headset, "Hands in the air where I can see them. No funny shit or I go trigger happy."

Mello stuck his hands up and tried to turn to get a better look at the owner of the voice. A hand grabbed his shoulder and forced him forward toward the couch. "Sit!"

Taking a seat Mello tried to chance a glance at the women, causing the gun to be pressed harder against his temple. "No peaking!"

Hearing the sound of metal clinking together, he felt something cold being forced around his wrists. Mello was then forced onto the ground, and the handcuffs were now locked onto the floor next to the fire place. "Now, let me see if I can find your carrot top friend."

Mello snarled. "You were watching us?"

He was answered with an ambiguous laugh. "What else would cause me to leave perfectly good wild pheasant to get cold?"

After that comment the woman left to find Matt. Once her footsteps no longer were heard in the living room Mello yelled at the small headset. "Matt, dude crazy bitch coming for you!"!

Seeing a pair of sneakers in front of his face Mello looked up to find Matt. "No need to yell man, right here."

Mello rolled his eyes and growled. "Will you just unlock these things?"

Matt smirked and knelt down to inspect the cuffs. "You got your ass kicked by a girl!"

Matt pulled a paper clip from his pocket and started to pick the lock. Just as the lock clicked the woman had returned. She was now carrying two guns, aiming them at the intruders. Mello tried to see her face, but it seemed she was now wearing a full faced mask. Matt stood and spoke slowly, trying to calm the gun wielder down. "Ok, look we are sorry for breaking into your house…We are looking for someone called Neo Mathews, it's about the Kira case."

But that only worsened the situation. Her guns clicked and she hissed. "What do you want with Neo?"

Mello stood, he was slightly upset now. "Look Neo we just want to talk about the Kira case, if you would just put the guns down…"

Hearing the sound of clicking heals the three people looked up. "That will be quite enough Sahara."

Matt and Mello's mouths dropped, a young woman with chopped black hair and venom green eyes was walking toward them, her lips painted with a shade of red. "Well it looks like my past has pushed back to the join the rest of my problems…Would you boys care for a glass of wine?"

They did not reply, rolling her eyes Neo turned to the masked girl. "Sahara, why don't you get two more wine glasses and the rest of the Pinto Grio?"

Handing over the guns Sahara took off down the hall with a quick "Yes, Madam."

Neo gestured over to the couch, "You may sit, but as Sahara said no funny stuff, I can be just a trigger happy as her."

Mello stared. "You're Neo Mathews?"

A smile jumped onto Neo's red coated lips. "I suppose I am, so who sent you? I highly doubt it's the Task Force, since I left behind a suicide note and made it look like I drove my bike off a bridge."

She mumbled the last bit more to herself. Matt glanced at Mello and then her. "You, you knew L?"

Leaning forward Neo picked up the glass of wine from the coffee table and took a sip. "I was asked to assist in the Kira case, under certain circumstances. After L's death I've been taking a back to seat to the Kira case, while also doing my best to prevent the murders of certain allies. Like many of my employees I have several criminal records under an array of aliases. However when the weapon is attained by a group not affiliated with Kira, I plan to take and destroy it. "

As if to prove her point Neo lifted up some of her hair. Inked into the flesh on the left side of her neck was a large gothic L. Smirking she lowered it and revealed her left wrist, a gothic W was inked into the inside of the wrist. "I knew L and Watari, or Quilish if you prefer to call him. Very well, I was an orphan at Whammy's for a few weeks after the death of my mother."

Mello couldn't help but to give her a sweep. She was wearing a pair of black jeans, knee high black boots and a pine green sweater. Her hair fell to her shoulders, fading weaves of purple hung on her locks. Her eyes were venom green, they looked almost manic, but there was a lot of intelligence in them. Suddenly her eyes snapped over and met his. "So what is it that you wanted?"

Mello blinked and replied. "Matt and I are the heirs to L's legacy; he left us a note in his will, telling us to talk with you. He said that you would know more than anyone else about the methods of Kira."

Neo's eyes widened slightly. "Well I deeply apologize, but my world does not give out information to outsiders."

Mello glared and snarled. "You gave information to L didn't you?"

Neo took another sip of wine and shook her head. "I was in the middle of a difficult situation, and I was in need of protection. Right now I can't risk waging a public war on Kira again; I'm already in the middle of another war. And right now I am trying to avoid it going public."

Mello almost leapt on her, ready to strangle her in frustration. But his head collided with the barrels of a gun. "I don't take kindly to threats. I was calm at first about the fact that you broke into my home and threatened my life…Let's just say that you are balancing on a very narrow cord, to which there is no safety net."

Matt grabbed Mello's shoulder and forced him down. After making sure Mello would not jump up again Matt spoke. "Look Miss Mathews, we know that you want to avoid getting involved with Kira…L explained that you of all people would be the most hurt by his killings."

Neo looked out the window; her eyes seemed to be searching for something. Matt continued on. "He also explained that once we got a hold of Kira's weapon that it belonged to you."

That seemed to have Neo's attention. "Really, well that was our agreement before tragedy struck the Task Force. Sadly that changed when a certain Task Force member took over."

Mello leaned forward. "You know who is posing as L?"

Neo remained silent, bringing her wine glass to her lips, she took a sip. "Maybe I do, and then again maybe I don't."

This caused Mello to almost bellow "Why are you refusing to give us any information?"

Setting her glace down Neo leaned forward. "You both are smart boys. L would have not considered you his 2nd and 3rd heirs if you weren't. Why try and solve a mystery when the mystery is only simple and dull. Where is the fun in that?"

Matt blinked, she sounded almost insane. Smirking, Neo crossed her legs and continued. "I have also given all the information I can to L's 1st heir. If you two were smart you would find him and work together with him in this case. After all three heads are better than one."

Mello snarled at the stranger. Who was she to judge? "Who are you to tell us what we should do?"

Neo fixed the copper blonde with an impassive yet malicious look. "I am many things Miheal Kheal. None of them pure good or pure evil, I am simply a blend of the good and bad. In the end my morals are very much like nature. Well balanced."

Still glaring, Mello countered. "But you are not nature, you are human. Like us, so you are either good or evil. There is no in between."

Wagging a finger in his direction, Neo laughed. "Ah but you have never been on my side of the playing field. My whole existence is focused on the protection of star readers and creatures so involved with nature, that anything human must adapt to their living arrangements in order to survive without becoming insane."

Matt stared. "You're talking about creatures of myth and lore, things that do not exist!"

Neo shrugged and had another sip of wine. Sighing she waved the glass around slightly, swirling the liquid. "So says you. My life is based on not what I can see, but what I can hear and what my instincts tell me to believe."

Mello watched the older woman, completely at a loss for how to define her. How could L have been able to deal with her? She was impossible, childish and stubborn…and more like him that any of his heirs. Matt shook his head. "You're insane."

Another smirk lifted her lips. "No one can live on this earth without picking up some sort of insanity. To be insane is merely human."

Matt blinked. "So, L hired you because you had information on things that science could not explain? You had the key to what Kira is using to kill?"

This earned another shrug from the lady. "You could say that. You could also say that the impossible became probable in L's eyes after seeing what Kira could do without breaking a sweat."

The two men stared at the other worldly lady, as she took the last sip of her wine. Standing she called over her shoulder "Sahara, would you please escort these gentlemen to the front door. Then pack up, we are leaving for Safe House Twenty."


End file.
